Sun Devils escape Pacific matchup with 76-66 win

(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)

TEMPE — In just the second-ever Briann January Classic, Arizona State women’s basketball hosted the Pacific Tigers in the second game of the classic Friday night. The games are played in honor of ASU legend Briann January, a defensive superstar for the Sun Devils from 2006-2009 and a WNBA veteran of 14 years.

The game opened with an offensive battle in the first quarter, with Pacific (4-3) leading 20-18 at the first break. Despite offensive slumps from both sides in the second, ASU (7-2) used a strong third quarter and a late 13-3 scoring run in the fourth quarter to close the game and pull out the 76-66 victory to take the all-time series lead over the Tigers.

While the Sun Devils played sound defense as a team, senior guard Jaddan Simmons commanded the offense, scoring a career-high 26 points in Friday’s win.

Simmons entered play as the Pac-12 Conference leader in free throw attempts and continued her dominance at the charity stripe, going 10-of-14 from the line. The senior did most of her work in the paint, driving downhill and collecting buckets underneath. Simmons finished the night at 8-of-15 from the field, adding seven rebounds and two assists as well.

“I was struggling in the Virgin Islands a little bit, so it just feels good to get back home and just really concentrate on what I need to do to help out my team,” Simmons said of her performance.

Simmons was not the only Sun Devil setting career highs, as her backcourt mate sophomore guard Jalyn Brown finished the night with 20 points, tying her career-high mark. Brown now has back-to-back 20-point games, as she posted the same number against High Point on Nov. 25 during the Paradise Jam.

“Today, I saw they were pressing up on me, so it was a good time to actually utilize my foot speed and get around them and get to the basket,” Brown said.

The sophomore transfer from Louisville accounted for 11 of the Sun Devils’ 18 points in the first period and ended up going 9-of-17 from the field.

ASU’s starting guard combo combined for over half of the Sun Devil’s points while also playing all 40 minutes. No other ASU player had double-digit points.

Despite this, ASU forced 20 turnovers and paid homage to January with an admirable defensive effort. Still, the Sun Devils were outrebounded once again, and they also ran into foul trouble.

“We talked about it before the game, and if you know Briann, she did it on defense…and we said that’s a way to honor her,” ASU head coach Natasha Adair said.

With Friday’s victory, the Sun Devils improve to 7-2 on the young season.

“We’re excited that we did get the win, but now we have to shift,” Adair said. Now it’s on to Xavier, and they’re tough … We have depth as well. We just said in the locker room. It may be someone else. That’s the versatility of our team. It may be Jaddan again. It may be [Jalyn] again, but I’m OK with whoever it is. They’ll be ready. The goal is to go 2-0 in our tournament.”